Having fallen earlier this week, oil prices have risen again, to around £112/barrel. The reason — US commercial crude stocks fell by 7.3million barrels, ten times the forecast amount. Inventories are now at their lowest levels since January. Prices rose after Libyan output dropped earlier this year. Full production (1.6m barrels/day) is currently forecast to …
Continue reading “Oil price volatile — two scenarios foreseen”
Mark Miller, chief executive of Cuadrilla, says that enough shale gas has been found beneath Blackpool and Preston to supply all Britain’s gas need for “more than 56 years”. He declined to say how much of that would be recoverable. In the US, ten percent has proved to be a typical recovery rate, meaning that …
The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Mr Peter Voser, has warned that oil and gas suppliers will struggle to keep up with global demand, pushing prices up and increasing volatility.
In November 2010 the German Bundeswehr (‘Federal Defence Force’) was embarrassed to find that a study by its Future Analysis department had leaked to the Internet. Nearly a year on and the report has been published in full, translated into English. With commendable German clarity and efficiency it reports as follows (direct quotations except where [square-bracketed], …
The price of gold is being forecast to pass $2,000 an ounce next year. And yet miners/manufacturers of industrial metals, such as iron and copper, are finding customers asking for shipments to be delayed. This is a “marked shift in industry sentiment from only six weeks ago, when most … groups painted a bullish outlook for commodities …
Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, is expected to tell his party conference today that Britain can invest its way out of the downturn. However, it is proving difficult to identify projects that can be started quickly, and the government is hampered by its need to cut spending on existing activities. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cff32134-e3b7-11e0-bd3d-00144feabdc0.html At the same time …
Mobile phone operators “around the world” are seeking mergers as a way to share the costs of capital infrastructure expenditure. In the US the number of major groups might reduce to three. In Greece worsening economic conditions mean there may soon be only two mobile operators to choose between. Regulators are trying to stop this …
Tesco, striving to build ‘the people’s bank’, had been expected to introduce mortgages this autumn. But plans have had to be postponed as the company struggles with IT systems and a “raft of tougher legislation.” Tesco has been very keen to move into banking, having been negatively affected by price rises on core purchases such …
At least three stories in today’s FT have this theme: Alan Lewis, the millionaire property and retail entrepreneur, has put the Tommy Nutter brand up for sale. Tommy Nutter made three of the suits worn by The Beatles on the cover of Abbey Road, as well as the suit that Mick Jagger wore to his …
A minor story this one, but an important one. British Airways is bringing back a ‘tag line’ invented 90 years ago: “To fly. To serve”. The slogan remained on company uniforms even when advertising told us that BA was “The world’s favourite airline”. It is now being brought back as the core of a new …